


Nick & Takeo - #46 - Horizon

by zosimos (trismegistus)



Series: Tobira no Mukou e [6]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Gen, Original Characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-04
Updated: 2010-05-04
Packaged: 2017-10-09 07:43:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trismegistus/pseuds/zosimos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt #46 of 50</p><p>Alternate Universe spinning off of the Children's OAV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nick & Takeo - #46 - Horizon

**#46 - Horizon**

Nick slouched with his boots up on the seat in front of his. There was hardly anyone on this train, and no one sitting in front of him so he had gotten as comfortable as he could on the cushionless benches. His duffel bag was slung under his seat, where he could get to it easily. Takeo sat beside him, nose buried in a book as usual.

Growing up with bullet trains and subways everywhere made Nick tetchy about traveling by these old steam engines. For one thing, they moved so. Damn. Slow. It took forever to get anywhere. Traveling out of the city? Well if you were going anywhere of import, it took the better part of the day. Sometimes two days, if you were really headed out of the area. And that wasn't discounting the fact that the trains didn't GO everywhere.

So this was one long, damn, tedious journey.

Of course, once he got really bored Nick could bum a book or two off of Takeo, it seemed that was all he traveled with was books. But all he had - and Nick could guarantee you this without looking at a single title - were advanced books on alchemy theories. Not exactly light reading.

They were headed west, on the trail of an alchemist whose writings made it seem like they had seen the Gate. Nick wasn't quite sure on the hows of opening the Gate again so they could get through it, to go home. Both Nick and Takeo knew that human transmutation was one key to getting to the Gate, but that was no guarantee of passage through. Never mind the price behind such shenanigans.

Nick really didn't know if there was any feasible way of getting back home. The Gate that they had opened, even accidentally, was complete coincidence. The alchemist who had opened a Gate on the Amestrian side of things paid for his folly with his life. They had to assume that once the transmutation had eaten the energy that Nick's blood and the small amount of dragon blood had generated that it would extinguish itself.

And if that was the case, they were well and truly stuck, because, while Takeo hadn't used all the blood in the vial, who else would know the transmutation circle to use to open the Gate again? Besides that, who else with Elric blood had stupid-ass friends who got them sucked through a fictional device into a world that by all rights only existed in his great-grandfather's mind? Nick groaned out loud and knocked his head back into the solid wood of the bench they were seated on.

"We're never getting home," Nick said to the ceiling. "It's just not going to happen. Too many ifs and coincidences."

Takeo looked up from his book and over to Nick, a frown on his face. "You're not giving up already, are you?"

"No," Nick said with a sigh, dropping his boots to the floor with a resounding clump. "Yes. I don't know."

His friend closed his book. "Look at it this way," he suggested. "Edward made it through the Gate, what, three times?"

Nick shot his friend a dark look, and Takeo shrugged. "It can be done."

"One of those times the Gate was open on both ends."

"That leaves two others."

"And one of those times, if I recall correctly, his body got separated from his soul."

"He seems pretty intact to me."

Nick groaned. "Takeo, the point is that's a one-in-a-million shot to do it successfully."

"Never tell me the odds."

"TAKEO."

"Sorry, you set it up." Takeo shrugged at him. "Look, I mean. I never expected that transmutation circle to even work in the first place, I'm a little out of my depth. But you." He nudged Nick and grinned. "Are an Elric, and somehow that bloodline has an expert ability to beat the odds."

"Great," Nick said. "Wonderful." He rubbed his hand over his eyes. "You're out of your depth, I'm in over my goddamned head."

"We'll work it out," Takeo didn't sound the least bit concerned. He opened his book again. "Might as well enjoy the adventure 'till we get there."

"Yeah," Nick slumped in his seat, jamming his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Whoopee." Takeo didn't respond again and the train continued to trundle down its track toward their destination.


End file.
